In praise of ... greying

There are as many pensioners as there are under-16s in Britain. This is not news. It does not mean the nation is hobbling collectively towards the bath chair. This is life. Or rather the slipway to death. So why the shock and awe this week that the fifth youngest president in American history is growing noticeably greyer after just 45 days in office? Has the foreign intel been that traumatic to read? Has the Sisyphean task of rescuing the economy accelerated the ageing process? Is the burden of office that heavy? The answer is none of these. The undramatic truth probably lies in Barack Obama's genes. Salt would have been added to the pepper of his pate whether he had remained a community worker on the south side of Chicago or not. But the value perversely placed on ducking an inevitable process is a different matter. Bill Clinton, shrewd politician that he was, acted counterintuitively. He added grey colouring to his hair in order to gain extra presidential gravitas. It was the highlights, stupid. Of course, it is easier for men to turn silver. But the Queen, whom Mr Obama is to meet when he comes over for the G20 meeting in April, has also eschewed attempts to fight the passage of time. So why go into spasms of self-doubt when the first grey flecks appear? Having children ranks as one of the most ageing things adults can do, but that is hardly an argument for staying childless. It may be wiser to stop trying to be what we no longer are, and make the most of the hair colour we happen to have. Losing it ... well, that's another matter.